Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together? Originally I was due to see The Brian Jonestown Massacre at the Astoria in London along with Stevie B and Andy, but then the band added a date in Brighton... so we sold our tickets and blagged into the Concorde instead - and as an extra bonus, Anton was kind enough to put my mate Justin on the band's guest list as well. Job done! Anton warmed up the crowd with a DJ set before the band took the stage at 9:20pm, and it was great to see tamborine man Joel out front and centre, reunited with his old band once again. With (at times) no less than five guitars playing BJM kicked up a terrific wall of sound, spoilt only by a few assholes determined to wind up Anton after no doubt seeing his well documented short temper in DiG! Highlight for me was Hide And Seek where the band discovered the lost chord and f*cked it until it bled. We'd been anticipating a two hour set, but in the end we got a full 2hrs 40mins, halted only as the stroke of midnight approached and the venue started turning on the house lights! An even more heroic performance when you consider that Anton wasn't feeling 100%. A truly amazing show.

Monday, November 27, 2006

The FrightFest boys returned to Brighton on Saturday night for their annual roadshow event, the third year running that they've taken part in the CineCity festival. It was a pretty small crowd, no doubt due to the recent ICA all-nighter which had already screened two of the three movies. Gone was Wolf Creek-lite, an Australian set thriller in which a British couple hitch a lift with a very dodgy geezer - and featured that old time honoured cliche of the car that just won't start when the heroine is in peril! I got half way through watching The Raven (featuring a very young Jack Nicholson, to my - and Paul's - surprise) before retiring to the upstairs bar in the Duke Of York's with Paul and Ian to hang out with the Vampire Diary mob - directors Mark James and Phil O'Shea and actresses Anna Walton and Morven Macbeth. The film is an ultra-low budget British chiller and follows a documentary film-maker (Macbeth) who gets mixed up with a real vampire (Walton)... nothing special, but it held my attention and at 2am, after more than several beers, that was no bad thing. Not an outstanding line-up this time then, but nonetheless a fun night and it was great catching up with the FrightFest team again.

Monday, November 20, 2006

This year's CineCity festival included a preview screening of London To Brighton on Sunday evening, one of the best British films of the year. It's a low budget thriller which relies more on character-led drama than gangster cliches and features stellar performances from Lorraine Stanley and Georgia Groome who play (respectively) a prostitute and young girl on the run in Brighton.

After the screening, Duke Of York programmer Jason Wood conducted an interview with Lorraine Stanley and director Paul Andrew Williams which gave a valuable insight into the development of the production. Paul comes across as a very affable character and I'll be interested to follow his career path, especially as he's just started collaborating on a project with James with a view to directing.

London To Brighton opens nationwide in the UK on 1st December and you can read my movie haiku below.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

And after the 1,000th post it's back to normal service with an air of creeping inevitability... yes, here's November's playlist. All the sounds I've been listening to a lot this month - with the exception of Polly's tugboat horn. Go get 'em...

Yes it's true... nearly two years since I started this blog (although I did go back and post all my 3 o'clock photos from 2003) and nearly 30,000 hits later, here I am writing my 1,000th post.

I wish I had something groundbreaking or exciting to report, but if I'm being honest then I'd have to say that Feed The Pony is going through something of a transition right now. Or a crisis of confidence. If I look back over the last year it's clear to me that my audience has shrunk considerably... I'm lucky to reach 50 hits a day now, whereas last Summer I was getting at least three times that amount. I don't regret phasing out the film reviews, in fact I don't know how I ever found the time to write so many, but what frustrates me now is that I've lost those spontaneous random posts that I used to write - and I know why that is: I can't blog from work any more. Now everything has to be done from home, so it's usually all pre-planned; the movie haikus, the gig photos, the live listings and the monthly cd playlists. The rest of the time I'm spent doing other things.

So... I need to decide which direction to follow. Do I allow Feed The Pony to continue as it is? Or do I make changes. I've often thought about having a separate blog just for the movie haikus... but then would I bother publishing my gig photos on a blog, or should I just set up a public gallery online? As for the other movie stuff that interests me, well I could just focus on doing those exclusively for Eat My Brains... and everything else, well there's always MySpace.

I don't know what the answer is, I'm just tossing around some ideas in my head... but I think I need to have made a decision on the way forward ready for 2007. So please, if you have any feedback or suggestions to make, please use the comments section. And thanks for reading.

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Radio 1 took over Brighton Dome this afternoon for their Chart Show Live event, the first time they've taken the show outside of London. I was on duty looking after the various ticket collections and guest lists so missed the start of All Saints set (which began with Black Coffee and Scar I believe) but I managed to nip in to catch Pure Shores and their catchy new single Rock Steady. It's good to have them back!

Nelly Furtado

It was back to work for me so I sadly missed the extra special duet between Katie Price & Peter Andre and all of McFly, making it back into the auditorium in time to catch the last two songs by Nelly Furtado - a cover of Gnarls Barkley's Crazy and her recent hit single Maneater.

Girls Aloud

Next up were Girls Aloud for their four song set, complete with their entourage of dancers. They cherry-picked some of their better singles to perform, starting with Biology and their current hit Something Kinda Ooooh. It was a strong performance and the girls presented themselves well, engaging the crowd in banter during each song. They finished off with Love Machine and one of their earliest tracks, Sound Of The Underground. "I really like Girls Aloud and I don't care who knows it," said my boss as they left the stage... indeed. I think their Greatest Hits album will be in my collection by Christmas.

Beyonce

After a long wait having to watch various Radio 1 DJs pad out the changeover, it was time for the final act. I have to say I'm not a massive fan of Beyonce, but here tonight she was different class. Opening with Deja Vu backed with dancers and a full band she looked stunning wearing a short cream dress, hair blowing in the air. Naughty Girl and Baby Boy followed, then forthcoming single Irreplaceable, the catchiest song she's done in ages. She had the audience spellbound by the time she finished Dangerously In Love which really highlighted her vocal skills, and finally - no surprise - she finished off with Crazy In Love which had the crowd going mad. Despite the (comparative) small size of the venue she gave it everything - she could have been playing Vegas. Very impressive... and a great way to end a really fun, enjoyable show.

You can see loads more photos from the concert on the Radio 1 website.

2. What was the last song you listened to?Shoot The Runner by Kasabian (on Radio 1 as I'm typing this)

3. What's in your CD player right now?I Megaphone by Imogen Heap

4. What was the last show you attended?Midlake at the ULU in London on Wednesday night

5. What was the greatest show you've ever been to?2K at the Barbican in 1997 - a 23 minute performance of their F*** The Millennium single featuring The KLF in wheelchairs alongside Zodiac Mindwarp, The William Fairy Brass Band, a lifeboatmens' choir and a mass of striking Liverpool dockers. I've just found some footage of it on You Tube, check it out here!

6. What's the worst show you've ever been to?I've seen loads of bad shows through work, but the most disappointing one that stands out was seeing Black Grape (minus Bez) at Brighton Centre. A complete shambles!

7. What's the most musically involved you have ever been?DJing for Collapsed Lung (Eat My Goal, anyone?) at the Pressure Point in Brighton

8. Which band/artist do you dislike?At the moment I'd have to say Razorlight

9. What shows are you looking forward to?Our Radio 1 Chart Show Live concert on Sunday with Beyonce, Nelly Furtado, Girls Aloud and All Saints! Also Revl9n and Bat For Lashes in Brighton nextmonth.

10. What is your favourite band shirt?I don't buy many band t-shirts nowadays, so would have to say my BrianJonestown Massacre logo shirt.

11. What musician would you like to hang out with for a day?Hmmmm... Bowie might be too intimidating, so maybe Dave Grohl, the nicestman in rock?

12. Who is one musician or group you wish would make a comeback?The The

13. Who is one band/artist you've never seen live but always wanted to?Faith No More

14. Can you name five flawless albums?Come Down by The Dandy WarholsBabe Rainbow by The House Of LoveOyster by Heather NovaSoul Mining by The The2 Many DJs as heard on Radio Soulwax part 2

15. If you could play in any band which band would you choose and what instrument would you play?I think Soulwax would be fun... maybe percussion.

16. How many concerts/shows have you been to, total?Hmmmm, I first started going to gigs in 1986 and I reckon I see on average one per week, so maybe around 1000?

17. Who have you seen the most live?The Dandy Warhols - 8 times

18. What is your favourite movie soundtrack?Natural Born Killers

19. What was your last musical "phase" before you wisened up?I don't have phases, my tastes have always been eclectic

20. What's your "guilty pleasure" that you hate to admit to liking?I almost bought the Girls Aloud Greatest Hits CD this week

Another night in London, another new venue to discover. I arrived at the ULU around 9pm so was quite surprised to be there in time to catch the support act (Fionn Regan I think) and find a decent place to stand... well, until the rude excessively tall people moved in for the second night running. Midlake played for about 75 minutes and sounded pretty good. I particularly liked the way they shared vocals and swapped instruments during their set, and each song was accompanied by projections or an odd promo video which complemented their seventies Americana sound perfectly. Their current album The Trials Of Van Occupanther is probably my favourite album of 2006, so it was nice to hear these songs played live and Roscoe in particular had the crowd whooping with delight. Another band I'd like to see again but preferably outside of London.

I like the newly renovated Roundhouse in Camden, it's a lovely venue with a rich musical history. A nice size - about the same as the Dome - but with such a fervent crowd inside it felt packed, and there seemed to be a procession of extra-tall people rudely pushing in front of wherever I stood... and I'm hardly short myself. Boy Kill Boy opened proceedings with a lively set which won the audience over, finishing with their hit single Susie. After buying The Singles CD this Summer I suddenly realised just how many Feeder songs I knew and liked, so it was great to see them in a small(ish) venue as part of their three special War Child benefit shows this week. They played a fair number of my favourites such as Shatter, Lost And Found, Feeling A Moment and Seven Days In The Sun as well as a number of more obscure tracks and covers (including REM's Everybody Hurts) - and the audience went wild for it. Expectation was high for the encore as The Sugababes had turned up the previous night to team up on a couple of songs, but Grant informed us that they were otherwise engaged, so that was the only slight disappointment.

Andy and I got to the Concorde just in time to see Blood Red Shoes take to the stage, Brighton's very own answer to The White Stripes. Well, sort of... there's just the two of them and they make a hell of a racket. In a good way. Promising stuff! It was great to finally see Metric live after months of plugging from Courtney and they didn't disappoint. Their new wave / punk sound worked better live than on record, a little more edgy and less produced. They played most of the tracks from Live It Out but also threw in a couple of early songs which I hadn't heard before but sounded equally great. The band seemed to be enjoying themselves too, and during the encore Emily gave into an exceptionally graceful spot of stagediving. Invigorating stuff, I want to see them again now! One of the top five gigs this year - so far.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Loads of exciting gigs and shows happening around Brighton this month... here's some of the ones to look out for:

04/11 - Brighton Centre plays host to The Flaming Lips - will they turn up with their menagerie of animal costumes this time?

05/11 - One of the bands of the moment The Gossip play down at the Concorde.

06/11 - I missed Metric when they played here as part of The Great Escape festival in May so I'm glad to have another opportunity. Support for their Concorde show comes from Brighton's own Blood Red Shoes who are creating quite a buzz at the moment.

07/11 - Up to London to check out the newly re-opened Roundhouse venue where Feeder will be performing a special gig in aid of War Child with support from Boy Kill Boy.

08/11 - My second night in a row in London as I check out Midlake playing at the ULU. Meanwhile The Feeling play a sold out gig at the Dome.

11/11 - Last time they played at the Dome it was recorded for a live DVD, now the Scissor Sisters have moved up to the arena circuit so they're headling over at Brighton Centre.

12/11 - This month's hot ticket is the just-announced Radio 1 Chart Show Live event which sold out in only ninety minutes. Taking place on Sunday afternoon at the Dome the line up features Beyonce, Nelly Furtado, McFly, Girls Aloud and All Saints all playing a short set each.

19/11 - A literary event at the Corn Exchange as luvvie Rupert Everett plugs his new autobiography with an interview and Q&A session. Anyone else want to ask him about Dellamorte Dellamore?

20/11 - The Bees are back in town for a show at the Concorde.

21/11 - Another sold out gig at the Dome, this time it's the turn of The Zutons.

25/11 - The FrightFest boys are due in Brighton for a double bill as part of this year's Cine City festival at the Duke Of York's cinema - films to be confirmed.

27/11 - Always an interesting proposition live, The Brian Jonestown Massacre are playing at the Concorde. Music or drama, who knows? Last time I saw them Anton was trying to pick a fight with the bar staff... I've also got tickets to see them at the Astoria the previous night. Meanwhile at the Dome there's Rodrigo Y Gabriela.

28/11 - Rounding off the month's entertainment we have The Magic Numbers at the Dome - you can also catch them doing an instore at Fopp on Wednesday 8th November.